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That's because DEF only tops out at 40 (because technically DEF 60 is full cover, and you can't fire through that), and I've already mentioned that on Classic onwards, the aliens gain frankly UNFAIR modifiers to Hit and Critical (which is supposed to be just +10 to both, but in reality is something like +40).

And while Archangel is nice for outdoor missions, it runs into problems in mostly-indoor missions like battleship/supply barge shootdowns. This is where I've found Ghost Armor shines the most.

That's because DEF only tops out at 40 (because technically DEF 60 is full cover, and you can't fire through that), and I've already mentioned that on Classic onwards, the aliens gain frankly UNFAIR modifiers to Hit and Critical (which is supposed to be just +10 to both, but in reality is something like +40).

Apparently according to further data mining, it's not that Classic is unfair, it's that Easy and Normal are rigged in favor of the player. Classic is apparently the default setting of the game with no modifiers, while Normal gives the player invisible bonus hit chances for the player. Easy even gives players a bonus to Aim should teammates die.

Also, I don't believe in the +40 claim of modifiers, since with the minimum of Aim that all units have (around 60-65), that should amount to enemies with 100% chance to hit and critical. Yet many times I've seen enemies on Classic and Impossible miss shots that should otherwise have killed me even when flanking or in cover (my most memorable moment being when 6 Thin Men - one of the most accurate units ingame - all missed my guy behind low cover on the same turn, and two Mutons flanking him missed too). Even my men don't miss that often if they have a 95% or above chance to hit, and only enemies with innate Defense like Muton Elites or Ethereals can reduce a 100% chance to hit to something manageable.

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Originally Posted by SoldierOfDarkness

Tried it and it really didn't do much. Against the heavy floaters that have almost ninja-like dodging capability my guys had a hard time hitting them with ghost armour even with cloak.

When I went back to Archangel even in warships I can still hover in the air to get the accuracy bonus and score hits on them.

Another problem is I have this on PS3 so I can't mod.

Ghost Armor works best on Assaults with Scatter Lasers or Alloy Cannons. Cloaking allows you to get close for 100% accuracy, the +20 Defense means you don't need to get into low cover, and firing out of cloak gives you a +100% Critical Hit Chance meaning you deal maximum damage everytime, even against Hardened enemies. Ghost Armor is seriously OP ingame, though after everything the enemy can throw at you a little reprieve is just fair.

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On Tsundere: "XCOM is like a tsundere: bitingly harsh and difficult to deal with at the beginning, challenging yet satisfying in the middle, then glorious domination at the end."

Ghost armour is balanced by the fact that they are more expensive than fighter-craft. You would get hit with elerium shortages. It took me two months before I managed to give ghost armour to everyone, after I got it researched.

Oh, blaster bomb is great by the way. Nothing like firing a bomb that does a u-turn around a UFO wall and taking out half a dozen aliens. I think I will keep two heavies on the team from now on.

My Support with Ghost and movement upgrade is great for baiting. Everyone gets on high ground and then the bait wakes up the enemies. Run back to the defensive position and wait. The enemies would end up reaching me nearly one at a time, and then get picked off.

I give a scope to everyone now. Even the Assault. It still works great even on shotguns once she reaches Colonel. The way I see it, the extra accuracy just balances the extra armour the late game aliens got. And the extra crit chance from the scope upgrade always helps.

Oh, blaster bomb is great by the way. Nothing like firing a bomb that does a u-turn around a UFO wall and taking out half a dozen aliens. I think I will keep two heavies on the team from now on.

This so much. Line of Sight? Obstacles? No need to worry about such things, just fire and watch everything get blown up. I always run missions like the Overseer UFO with two Heavies sporting Blaster Launchers.

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On Tsundere: "XCOM is like a tsundere: bitingly harsh and difficult to deal with at the beginning, challenging yet satisfying in the middle, then glorious domination at the end."

This so much. Line of Sight? Obstacles? No need to worry about such things, just fire and watch everything get blown up. I always run missions like the Overseer UFO with two Heavies sporting Blaster Launchers.

I do wonder what is exactly lost if I blow up an alien. I know I still get their corpses; so is the only thing I lose the weapon fragments?

Because after you get all the foundry upgrades, the Blaster Bomb and the useless Fusion Cannon (because EMP is good enough), there is nothing else you use the weapon fragments for.

Yes, weapon fragments, weapons, and alloys afaik. Which means in the late game where all three are in abundance, blowing up everyone should be SOP.

Something else is also important to note. The fact that everything that isn't target-able is invincible. So no loot on the ground or unconscious aliens can be destroyed.

Seriously though, some tactical aspect is missing if one can't grab alien bodies and run. I can tell that there are plenty of room for improvement. Hope for a day we get things like stamina and item weight back into the game.

There is no cap on Defence. It is actually possible to exceed 100 Def using a combination of Full Cover, Ghost Armour, Smoke Grenade, etc... and Hunker. A funny thing happens when Aliens are faced with "impossible" odds. They literally freeze, because their AI-routines can't think of a way to proceed.

It's called the Overwatch Exploit, and requires tactical flanking while having troops on overwatch behind good cover. The targeted alien basically quivers on the spot until you kill it or stun it.

Apparently according to further data mining, it's not that Classic is unfair, it's that Easy and Normal are rigged in favor of the player. Classic is apparently the default setting of the game with no modifiers, while Normal gives the player invisible bonus hit chances for the player. Easy even gives players a bonus to Aim should teammates die.

Also, I don't believe in the +40 claim of modifiers, since with the minimum of Aim that all units have (around 60-65), that should amount to enemies with 100% chance to hit and critical. Yet many times I've seen enemies on Classic and Impossible miss shots that should otherwise have killed me even when flanking or in cover (my most memorable moment being when 6 Thin Men - one of the most accurate units ingame - all missed my guy behind low cover on the same turn, and two Mutons flanking him missed too). Even my men don't miss that often if they have a 95% or above chance to hit, and only enemies with innate Defense like Muton Elites or Ethereals can reduce a 100% chance to hit to something manageable.

So what do you do with your assault gets close and he's now close to 6-7 aliens?

I tried that and it spawned more enemies.

Even when I tried baiting them by the time the aliens got to me none of my guys could even score a hit.

I mean seriously. I felt so handicapped by the armour.

What's even annoying is that even with a 99% hit and my guy is next to them the Elite Muton/Heavy floater STILL dodges the shot.

Yes, weapon fragments, weapons, and alloys afaik. Which means in the late game where all three are in abundance, blowing up everyone should be SOP.

Something else to consider, is that late game almost all the enemies you run into have VERY high hp. Which means most of the time explosives are used to soften up opposition, rather than kill them outright.

So what do you do with your assault gets close and he's now close to 6-7 aliens?

I tried that and it spawned more enemies.

Even when I tried baiting them by the time the aliens got to me none of my guys could even score a hit.

I mean seriously. I felt so handicapped by the armour.

What's even annoying is that even with a 99% hit and my guy is next to them the Elite Muton/Heavy floater STILL dodges the shot.

You NEVER charge your Assault in when there are still multiple aliens.

You send in the shotgun when you still have enemies left alive that you need to kill immediately.

Here is my firing order: Heavies with their rocket or metal storm, Sniper on who ever is most threatening, Support with their rifles after getting as close as they can for a good hit chance, THEN send in the shotguns to kill whatever is left.

And I recommend scopes for EVERYONE. At higher difficulties and with the late game enemies, the extra health from bonus HP made no difference. You are better off trying to kill them off first.

As for baiting?

There are two key elements;
1. Try to get on slightly higher ground whenever possible. Very hard early on and can't be done on most maps, but it makes a difference.
2. Position your soldiers so that by the time the alien saw you, you are already so close that even heavies can have 70% chance to hit or higher. This means never camp AT doorways, but instead angle yourself to the side and a few squares away. The idea is that the alien will only see you once he walk a few steps past the doorway. Camping AT doorways is risky because you would get shot at, which is dangerous when you are playing Classic or harder.

Other Fixes
TempleShip optimization: All Soldiers properly spawn when restarting the mission after clearing the second room of TempleShip
Snapshot penalty should no longer apply when Overwatching without first moving.
Easy Difficulty is now easier.

Given that the Abductor roof problem is one of my few quibbles with the game, I'm glad they're fixing that.

Something else to consider, is that late game almost all the enemies you run into have VERY high hp. Which means most of the time explosives are used to soften up opposition, rather than kill them outright.

Also of note, you get their weapons if you stun instead of kill them. A heavy plasma cost equal to a firestorm to make (On pure credit basis, so even late game I still bring a stunner arc or two just for "goodie shopping"